


Lozenges

by amortentialarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: At one point, Fluff, Louis and Stan were a thing, M/M, No Smut, One Shot, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-04-08 11:28:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4303083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amortentialarry/pseuds/amortentialarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis hates going to the market.</p><p>His distaste for going out and shopping really proves to be a conflict of interests at times, especially when the situation involves his little sisters. And this time around, it’s Phoebe who’s sick in bed and he’s got to go out and get cough drops for her because she swears she’s going to die if she doesn’t get one in her mouth immediately. </p><p>Or the one where Louis and Harry meet at the market and hit it off immediately.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lozenges

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this when I had a cold. I bet Louis and Harry get each other lozenges and a million cups of tea when they're sick.

Louis hates going to the market.

His distaste for going out and shopping really proves to be a conflict of interests at times, especially when the situation involves his little sisters. And this time around, it’s Phoebe who’s sick in bed and he’s got to go out and get cough drops for her because she swears she’s going to die if she doesn’t get one in her mouth immediately. 

So Louis fights the part of him that’s groaning about having to get bundled up just to get cough drops and pulls on his coat, shoving his feet into his Vans because he’s got to draw the line of winter wear somewhere. He announces that he’s going to the market and then heads off. 

The drive to Tesco’s honestly feels like a waste, and Louis wonders how unreasonable it would have been to call delivery for cough drops as he finds a parking spot. He kills the engine and sits in the quiet warmth of his car for a moment before forcing himself out, muscles jumping the moment he’s in the open. 

He walks into Tesco’s and goes straight to the aisle with the lozenges, spending an extra minute debating whether Phoebe would prefer honey lemon cough drops or strawberry ones as an excuse to stay indoors. 

And that’s when Louis gets sneezed on.

Looking back on it, that sneeze was probably the best moment of his life, but at the time, Louis could think nothing but oh fuck, of course a stranger would sneeze on him.

He turns around, royally pissed, tongue ready to lash out at whatever blundering idiot decided to sneeze on him and sees a tall, lanky, and, if Louis is honest, quite frankly gorgeous boy standing behind him with a horrified expression on his face. He looks so terrified that Louis’ anger melts away and he almost laughs, the boy’s horror is so comical.

“I’m so sorry,” the boy says, and Louis almost moans, his voice is so deep, made husky by his cold. “I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t-” The stranger breaks off and violently sneezes again, this time into his elbow. He blinks rapidly a few times, sniffs his nose and mumbles out another apology, looking and sounding absolutely miserable.

Louis musters up a bright smile. “It’s all good, love.”

They both freeze at the pet name. 

The stranger thaws out first and chuckles, saying, “’M sorry anyway.” He sticks out a hand, and then thinks better of it, quickly shoving it in his pocket. “I’m Harry.”

“Louis,” he says, smiling again. “Nice to meet you, Harry.”

Harry grins. “Erm, you don’t sound sick… Who’re the cough drops for?”

Having completely forgotten about the cough drops, Louis looks down at the package in his hands before looking back up at Harry. “My little sister?” Louis answers, the statement coming out as a question.

Harry’s expression lights up. “You’ve got a little sister?”

“Four of them,” Louis replies grimly, shrugging, looking down at the package. He supposes Phoebe won’t mind honey lemon lozenges. 

“I wish I had a younger sibling,” Harry says wistfully, pushing a lock of dark, curly hair behind his ear as it falls out from under his hat. 

Louis tilts his head. “Only child?” he inquires.

Harry shakes his head, a few more curly strands escaping the confines of his hat as he does so. “No. I’ve got an older sister. She’s my best friend. But I love kids.”

“Me too!” Louis agrees, perhaps a little bit too enthusiastically. “I mean, not to say I don’t argue with my sisters, but I love them to bits.”

“They sound lovely,” Harry says with a wide smile.

There’s a moment of silence, and then Harry says, “I think I’d better pick up some cough medicine” just as Louis is saying, “You could come meet them, if you’d like.”

Louis isn’t entirely who’s more shocked by what just came out of his mouth: Harry or Louis. 

Luckily, Harry’s still smiling and isn’t running away from Louis. Good signs, so far. “That’d be awesome, yeah.”

And Louis realizes how freaking desperate he is, because he met this guy how long ago and he’s already inviting him over? He doesn’t even know how old he is, what is last name is; hell, he could even be straight. 

“Er, I’ll let you get that cold medicine, then,” Louis says, shuffling his feet.

Harry’s gaze drops to their shoes, and Louis notices how beat up and ragged his Vans look beside Harry’s boots. 

“And then I can meet these sisters of yours?”

The inquiry is fair enough, but Louis is still taken aback. It takes him a second to find his voice. “Er, yeah, I mean, I guess? Unless you’re an axe murderer or something, because that would change things.”

Harry laughs, and Louis finds himself wishing there was a way for him to turn Harry’s deep, hearty chuckle into a quilt, it’s so warm and comforting. "I’m not an axe murderer,” he says with a teasing smile. “Just a twenty-one year old gay uni student trying to pick up some cold medicine. And, by the looks of it, a date.” 

Louis’ mouth drops open. Fuck, that was smooth.

Harry laughs harder at Louis’ expression, and it takes him a moment to find his voice. “You really coming over?”

“Unless you don’t want me to.”

“Then let’s get your cold medicine and skedaddle,” Louis says, grabbing Harry’s hand and pulling him down the aisle.

Harry giggles and whispers, “Skedaddle,” to himself as Louis leads him around Tesco’s.

They grab the cold medicine and then make their purchases. Louis arranges for Harry to follow him home, and then the two get into their cars and drive to the Tomlinson’s house.

When Louis is about halfway home, he realizes what his sisters, especially Lottie and Fizzy, will see Harry as. 

Is that your new boyfriend?

Is he just your friend?

Is he going to be coming around often?

He winces to himself and grips the steering wheel harder, trying to block out the sound of his sister’s voices, but it’s impossible to stop their unasked questions from bouncing around his head. But if they do ask, he can’t blame them; it’s been ages since he’s brought anyone home. They were still used to seeing-

Louis shakes the thought out of his head and forces himself to focus on the road and not the dark path his thoughts very nearly took.

Louis parks in the driveway, and Harry parks on the street outside. Outside Louis’ house, Harry seems even taller.

At the door, Louis pauses and glances up at Harry. “So, my sisters,” he starts ungracefully.

“Yeah?” Harry asks.

Louis swallows hard. “Um, theymightthinkwe'redatingsopleasedontgetfreakedout.”

“What?”

Louis sighs. “Just… Don’t listen to my sisters, okay?”

“Deal.” Harry looks highly amused, but he agreed, so Louis just sighs and opens the front door.

“Louis!” Daisy screeches from somewhere inside the house, and Louis sees Harry’s expression light up. “Louis Louis Louis!”

“I’m dying!” he hears Phoebe yell hoarsely from her room upstairs, and he chuckles to himself.

“I’m home, and I’ve brought a friend!” Louis calls just as Daisy comes barreling into the entryway.  
She wraps her skinny arms around Louis’ waist and peers up at Harry. 

“You’re very tall,” she says.

Harry grins and crouches down so that he’s level with her - and Louis’ crotch. Not the time, Louis. “Better?”

Daisy grins and nods before looking up at Louis. “Who is this?”

“Harry. Uh, this is my little sister, Daisy.”

“Cough drops!” Phoebe calls from her room. 

Louis carefully detaches himself from Daisy and goes upstairs, pulling out the honey lemon lozenges and tossing the package lightly to Phoebe. “Here you go, princess.”

Phoebe studies it. “I prefer strawberry. But thanks.”

Louis smiles and walks over to Lottie’s room. Empty. He checks a hastily scrawled note on her desk:

Going out with Fizzy and some friends. Mum said it was ok. Be back for dinner!

Louis walks downstairs to see Harry sitting on the couch, Daisy in his lap, the two of them giggling quietly. 

“What’s going on here?” Louis asks, sitting next to Harry without sitting too next to him. “Gossip?”

Harry is grinning. “Sure, let’s call it that.” 

Daisy bursts out laughing at that, causing Louis to raise his eyebrows. 

“What?”  
Louis’ little sister whispers something into Harry’s ear, and Harry starts laughing, his eyes crinkling and he leans forward. “Really?” he asks Daisy, who nods enthusiastically.

“I don’t like this,” Louis complains, and they ignore him.

Daisy giggles. “I’m going to go play with Phoebe,” she announces, looking at Harry and giggling once more before turning and skipping upstairs, opening and closing the door to her shared bedroom with Phoebe rather noticeably.

Harry is still grinning, and as desperately as Louis wants to play it cool, he’s curious. “What were you two laughing about?”

Harry’s grin widens. “Nothing.”

“I swear, if you’ve taught her some nasty cuss word-”

“Nope, but she did teach me something,” Harry says.

Louis lasts about four seconds before asking, “What was it?”

“It was-” Harry’s answer is cut off by Louis’ phone ringing.

Louis swears he’s going to kill whoever’s calling him.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls it out, makes a mental note to murder Niall later, and then answers. “What?” Louis asks, trying his hardest to keep the venom out of his voice. But judging by the way Harry’s eyebrows go up, he did a pretty poor job.

“You comin, mate?” Niall shouts, and Louis can barely hear him over the ruckus in the background.

“What the hell are you on about?” Louis asks, and Niall laughs hysterically for a moment before yelling, “The pub! Aren’t ya coming?”

And shit, Louis completely forgot about it. He was supposed to meet up with Liam and Niall for drinks, but then Phoebe wanted cough drops and then Harry and shit.

“Uh, yeah?”

He can almost see how drunk Niall already is. “Ace! Seen you soon, then.” And then he’s hung up, and Harry’s looking expectantly at Louis.

Louis grins up at Harry sheepishly and says, “Er, I was supposed to meet with my mates.”

Harry’s expression drops for a split second before he manages to plaster a fake smile on his face. “Oh, right. I should-”

“Come with me?”

The question hangs in the air for a moment before Harry’s plastic smile melts into a genuine one that Louis has to return. “Sure.”

His smile melts as he realizes that Phoebe and Daisy would be home by themselves. “My sisters,” he says with a sigh. “Lottie and Fizz were supposed to watch them, but they went out with their friends-”

“Do you have any other friends you could call?” Harry asks.   
Louis chews the inside of his cheek for a long moment before saying, “Maybe…”

Harry picks up on Louis’ hesitation and quickly says, “You could always call your friend and tell him you can’t go out.”

Louis sighs. “I would, but… honestly, I’m dying to go out.”

Harry nods, sneezing three times before saying, “Then call your friend!”

Louis hesitantly unlocks his phone and pulls up the contact, trying not to flinch at the smiling face in the contact photo before calling.

“Relax,” Harry whispers, and Louis realizes he’s biting his lip. He releases his lip from the tight grip of his teeth and lets out a shaky breath.

“Right.” Louis tries his best to sound normal but ends up sounding like he’s being strangled.

Just when Louis is about to give up and hang up the phone, Louis hears a heartbreakingly familiar, “Louis?”

Louis licks his lips, nervous. “Er, yeah, hi Stan.” He’s vaguely aware of Harry stiffening beside him in surprise, but he ignores him, too focused on trying to keep his composure.

“Hey, what’s up? We haven’t talked in ages.” Stan laughs nervously, and Louis realizes that Stan is just as nervous as he is.

“Yeah, yeah. Um, I hate to do this so last minute, but could I call in a favor? I promised Nialler and Liam that I’d go out with them and I don’t have anyone to watch the twins, my mum’s out and Lottie and Fizz went out-”

Stan interrupts Louis with a warm laugh that makes Louis’ stomach twist with hurt and longing. “Yeah, no problem Lou.” Louis flinches at the nickname, and Stan continues obliviously, “I’ll be over in like fifteen?”

“Thank you so much,” Louis breathes.

“It’s no problem,” Stan assures him, and then Louis is sitting there listening to dead air.

“Louis? Is everything okay?”

Louis doesn’t realize he’s shaking until he discovers that he can’t stop.

“Yeah,” he mutters, brushing his hand quickly against his eyes, mortified to find that he was crying. “‘M fine.”

“Are you sure? I just-”

Louis stands up abruptly. “I, er, I have to get ready to go out,” he mumbles, running upstairs.

He shuts his door and slides down until he’s sitting on the floor, arms wrapped around his legs, rocking back and forth.

It was a bad idea, calling Stan. They ended things on good terms, but Louis still misses him, still thinks about him, still wants him...

And then he hears a knock on the door downstairs.

“Fuck.” Has he really been sitting on the floor trying to get over his ex-boyfriend for fifteen minutes? He gets to his feet and opens the door, going downstairs. 

He realizes halfway down he hasn’t changed, and he’s sure Harry knows, but thankfully he doesn’t comment on it. Louis steels himself and opens the door.

Stan smiles down at him, looking devastatingly good. “Hey, Lou,” he says, holding out his arms for a hug.

Louis stiffens and hugs him back, trying not to melt into the embrace, knowing he’ll never be able to put himself back together if he does. “Hi Stan,” he whispers. 

Stan walks in, and the first thing his eyes go to is Harry, standing in the middle of the living room. He glances at Louis, raising his eyebrows, and Louis shrugs. “Moved on, then?” he asks quietly, his smile sad.

Louis shakes his head. “Just a friend.”

Stan shrugs and walks up to Harry, smiling, holding out a hand. “Hello, I’m Stan,” he says, and Harry smiles and takes his hand, his own introduction interrupted by a sneeze.

“Daisy? Phoebe?” Louis calls, dying for someone who he’s allowed to love to be in the room. 

The twins’ room door slams against the wall, and the two girls scamper down the stairs, giggling. Phoebe’s mood seems greatly improved, and she and Daisy jostle each other as they race down into the living room.  
Daisy catches sight of Stan first, and she squeals in delight, running over and throwing herself into his arms, and he catches her easily, swinging her around once before holding her to him in a tight hug and she chants, “Stan! Stan! Stan!” Phoebe is just a step behind him, sprinting to the man and attaching herself to his leg, holding him tightly.

“Er, I think you guys are going to be alright, then?” Louis asks weakly, and Stan laughs.

“Glad they remember me,” he says, and Daisy giggles, looking over at Louis with wide, shining, happy eyes, and Louis hurts because he’s pretty sure he used to look like that around Stan.

“Yeah, that’s good,” he says. 

“Thanks so much,” he adds under his breath, and Stan smiles at him, real and genuine, and Louis just wants to throw his arms around him because god he just misses him so much.

Stan nudges Louis towards Harry and winks. “Off you two go, then. Don’t want to keep Niall waiting, eh? I’ve got these two rascals.”

Louis gives Stan a grateful look, wishes the twins goodbye, and then he and Harry walk out into the crisp afternoon air.

Harry stays silent well into the car ride to the pub, and Louis is dying to know what he’s thinking. 

“So that’s your ex?”

Louis’ teeth find his lower lip again, and he nods. “Er, yeah. Stan.” 

Harry smiles. “I gathered that much. You know, he introduced himself and all.”

Louis chuckles nervously, but he can feel the knot that’s been in his chest since he dialed Stan slowly unraveling. “Sorry. I, just, I’m not used to talking about him.”

“Or to him,” Harry adds, and Louis smiles wryly.

“Yeah, something like that.” They drive in silence for a little bit longer, and then Louis says quietly, “We broke up on good terms. We just decided that it wasn’t what we needed. We decided-“

"There’s an awful lot of ‘we’ involved,” Harry interrupts. “But why does he seem fine?”

And Louis knows he knows. “He broke up with me,” he admits, keeping his eyes fixed outside the windshield. “There wasn’t an argument. He just… got over me, I guess.”

Harry’s silent for a moment before he says, “Well that was stupid of him.”

Louis’ heart swells, and when he parks in the lot behind the pub, he catches Harry’s hand and gives him a warm smile. “Thank you,” he says quietly, and Harry smiles back, and Louis thinks he could look at that smile forever. 

“Let’s go unwind, then?” Harry suggests, and Louis reluctantly pulls his hand away and they walk into the pub together.

After Louis acquaints Harry with Niall and Liam, he goes to the bar, orders them each a drink and then returns to the table, sliding the bottle across the wood into Harry’s waiting fingers.

Harry’s cold is much better by the end of the first drink, and by the third, he seems almost completely better. His already slow speech slurs further, and now Louis is watching him writhe with some girl on the dance floor. She’s clearly checking him out, but Louis reminds himself that Harry’s gay and tries unsuccessfully not to glare at the blonde that Harry’s shimmying with.

“Is he your boyfriend?” Niall asks, one arm slung around Liam, the other holding up a drink in a senseless toast.

Louis shakes his head, too absorbed in watching Harry to say anything.  
“How long have you guys been friends?”

“Met him at Tesco’s today.”

Niall says something, but Louis is now totally distracted. He’s about to give up and just let him dance for a bit, not that he has a say, but then she puts her hands on his waist and Louis loses it. He stands up and walks over to the dance floor, ignoring Niall’s questions and weaving through the crowd of dancing people to locate Harry.

“Harry,” Louis yells, and Harry turns around and looks down at him, a wide, dopey grin on his face. 

“Hey, Lou,” he murmurs, completely leaving the girl and putting his arms around Louis’ waist and swaying them back and forth in a slow dance despite the pulsating dance music that’s playing. He buries his face in Louis’ neck and stays there, his warm breath falling onto his skin, his lips ghosting over his collarbone. 

“Harry-”

Harry straightens up and shushes him, his brow wrinkling for a moment before his expression morphs into an expression of utter delight. “Be happy, Lou,” he whispers, and despite how close they are, Louis barely catches the sentence.

His breath hitches, and he feels his cheeks heat up. “I wish I could,” he murmurs, and Harry grabs his hand and drags him back to the table where Niall and Liam have gotten considerably more cosy. But he doesn’t drop Louis’ hand, which Louis takes as a good sign.

That little detail doesn’t escape Niall’s sharp eyes; even drunk, Niall sees everything. He grins and shoots Louis a thumbs up, which Louis swats away with his free hand. 

“We’ll be right back,” Harry declares to the two, and Niall nods. Liam is too occupied with counting Niall’s fingers, over and over and over again.

Harry leads Louis out of the pub, and suddenly they’re stretched out on the hood of Louis’ car, and Louis is tucked into Harry’s side, and god Louis could get used to this.

Except he shouldn’t, because Harry is this random guy that he met at Tesco’s just hours ago. But the way that Harry’s thumb is gently stroking Louis’ arm feels almost routine, and Louis wonders how he survived this long without Harry.

“I like you,” Louis says suddenly, and then blushes, because how could he just blurt that out?

Harry smiles down at him. “Well that’s good,” he says amiably, chuckling, and Louis throws all his inhibitions into the velvety dark night and snuggles into Harry. 

“Tell me a story,” he mumbles sleepily. 

“What kind of story, babe?” Harry asks, and Louis blushes because wow, he really likes that.

“A happy one,” Louis says, closing his eyes, synchronizing his breathing with Harry’s slow, even ones.

Harry ponders for a moment, and then he starts.

“Once upon a time, there was a boy named Louis,” Harry says, and Louis can feel how deep his voice is beside him. “A really, really pretty boy named Louis. Louis had the softest brown hair-” Harry’s hand lightly brushes against Louis’ fringe, “and the bluest eyes.” Louis opens his eyes and peeks up at Harry and finds him looking down at him fondly. Louis closes his eyes and smiles, wriggling closer, laying his arm across Harry’s stomach. 

“What happens to Louis?”

“Lots of things,” Harry says. “But what matters here is when this boy named Harry, tall, awkward, gangly, curly haired, socially impaired-”

“And beautiful,” Louis murmurs, smiling. 

He can hear Harry’s smile when he finally picks up the story. “And Harry gives away the fact that he’s been checking out Louis by sneezing on him.”

Louis’ eyes have never opened faster. He sits up, propping himself up with one arm, and looks down at Harry, dumbfounded. “What?”

Harry shrugs, a faint smile dancing on the curve of his lips. “And then Harry thought, oh shit, I’m screwed, but luckily, Louis only turned around and accepts Harry’s apology.” Harry pauses and says, “Come back here, that was comfortable, I wasn’t ready for you to get up.”

Louis decides he’s not going to stop smiling and blushing tonight, as he does both while resuming his earlier position. “Continue,” he says, prodding Harry’s side with a finger.

Harry squirms for a moment before saying, “And Harry was scared, because surely a boy that pretty was straight, and if he wasn’t, he had to be taken. But Harry risked conversation anyways, because he’d be damned if he didn’t at least try. And luckily, Louis seemed okay with it. In fact, he even invited him over.”

“To see my sisters!” Louis interrupts, and Harry chuckles before saying, “Is this my story or yours?” with mock sternness, causing Louis to groan and play with Harry’s fingers.

“Fast forward a bit, and Harry meets Louis’ ex, Stan.” 

Louis inhaled a bit too fast, nearly choking on his breath, but Harry plows on before Louis can utter a word.

“Stan was really good looking,” Harry says, now avoiding Louis’ gaze. “In fact, when he walked in with Louis, they looked like a picture perfect couple. And Harry thought, if that’s his ex, how am I even going to compete?” 

“You don’t have to,” Louis whispers, dropping Harry’s hand and looking up at Harry until Harry looked down at him.

“Harry isn’t good enough for someone like Louis,” Harry whispers back.

Louis threads their fingers together. “Harry is exactly what Louis wants, and is exactly what Louis needs.”

Harry sits up, and Louis follows suit, and they stare at each other for a long while.

“This is so inappropriate,” Harry says quietly. “But can I kiss you?”

“No one’s stopping you,” Louis says with a grin.

Looking back on it, Louis decides yeah, he’s really fucking glad that Phoebe made him go get cough drops at Tesco’s.


End file.
